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Lars Ulrich reveals Metallica are working on new music while in lockdown

The band are reportedly in “discovery mode” with writing remotely.

James Hetfield onstage

Photo: Andrew Benge / Redferns

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Drummer Lars Ulrich has revealed that Metallica have been working on new material over the internet while in lockdown for COVID-19.

Speaking with Swedish talk show host Fredrik Skavlan, Ulrich said that the band have been staying connected, both as friends and musical collaborators in a series of weekly online hangouts while in lockdown.

“We are sending ideas to each other via email and via Zoom and [trying to] make music in these unusual situations,” Lars explained. “We have a weekly Zoom connect. We’ve been doing that basically since it [the coronavirus pandemic] started 10, 11 weeks [ago] – since it started in America. So we get together once a week on Zoom for a couple of hours and catch up.”

Ulrich discussed how a “quarantine album” would fare in comparison to Metallica’s past records, noting that the band were still “in discovery mode” with this remote approach to writing.

“The sonic side of it and the practical elements are in surprisingly good shape,” he said. “So now we just gotta figure out how much we can create without being in the same space.”

When pressed by Skavlan on whether a “quarantine album” is truly “on the way”, Ulrich divulged, “I would say yes, on the way.”

Earlier this May, the band uploaded a stripped-down version of Blackened, captured from each member’s individual homes, which may provide a taste of what a “remotely written” Metallica could sound like.

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